Humane Society answers commissioners’ charges
Statements from several county commissioners that some constituents have complained the Humane Society failed to respond to calls to pick up animals has led Humane Society members and employees to respond to the charges. Also at issue is the claim shelter office manager Beth Farmer stated the Humane Society did not pick up dogs, something Farmer says is surprising to her since the shelter has actually picked up animals at the residence of one of the commissioners making this claim.
Farmer says she doesn’t recall making such a statement and it was never her intention to give that impression since picking up county animals has always been one of the shelter’s main functions. She feels the whole thing is a misunderstanding.
“The only thing I can figure out,” Farmer said, “is that I said we don’t pick up in the city limits. That’s the only thing I can figure out, because obviously we pick up dogs. Thomas (shelter employee Thomas Roach) has brought in five today. He’s been on four calls and brought in five dogs. So obviously we pick up dogs.”
In answer to some of the complaints, Farmer pointed out last year was a difficult year for the shelter. Farmer had surgery and was out for a time and Roach had an accident and was also out. In addition the shelter was actually closed for some time in 2004, so Farmer said she could understand why there may have been several complaints over that time period.
Farmer also says there are several situations that make it difficult for shelter personnel to pick up animals.
“If you call me and say there’s a dog in your yard,” Farmer said, “and by the time I get out there it’s in your neighbor’s yard, we cannot pick it up. We can’t go on someone else’s property.”
And even though they try to answer calls in a timely manner, Farmer there’s also the chance dogs may disperse before the shelter gets to a location.
“If you call me and say there’s a pack of dogs in my neighborhood and we get out there and we see no dogs,” Farmer said, “we can’t pick up what we don’t see.”
Another situation that may occur is when shelter personnel come by and the individual is not home.
“If you call us in the morning and we get out to your house and you’re not home and we don’t see a dog, of course you’re not going to know we’ve been there.”
But according to Farmer, that will soon be remedied. The Humane Society has gotten door hangers to place on doors to let people know they have been there.
And sometimes the shelter is just swamped with calls.
“If you get 10 calls in a day and you have x-number of employees and vehicles,” Farmer said, “then you probably won’t get them all. We may run a day or two behind, depending on the load at the time.”
It’s also difficult to pick up animals who are wild and can’t be approached easily. In those situations the shelter usually tries a trap to catch the animals.
“We can set a trap,” Farmer said, “but it doesn’t always work. Some dogs are smarter than we give them credit for and they will not go in. If they don’t go in and we can’t catch them, there’s not a whole lot we can do.”
Farmer says the Humane Society makes every effort to try to pick up animals. One of the main aims of the shelter has always been to provide animal control for county residents. She says she is at a loss as to why the county is contemplating hiring its own animal control officer.
“It’s already in place,” Farmer said. “We’ve been doing that as long as I’ve been here and before.”
Farmer feels whoever the county hires will encounter the same problems, and likely the same complaints, the Humane Society has.
“It’s a hard job,” she said. “It’s not as easy as some people think it is.”